Congress Watch Research Internship

Congress Watch, a division of Public Citizen, is seeking interns. Public Citizen is a national, non-partisan, public interest group with over 225,000 members and activists. The Congress Watch division engages in public education, grassroots organizing, and advocacy before the Congress and administrative agencies on money in politics, open government, corporate accountability, financial regulation, health and safety, and access to justice.

The research internship provides students with a better understanding of how investigative and public policy research plays a role in debate over federal legislation and in public interest advocacy work. Interns work as full-fledged members of the staff, which includes research, lobbying and field organizing departments.

Public Citizen hires interns for the fall, spring, and summer semesters with flexibility regarding start and end dates. Please note that course credit can be arranged, but all internships are otherwise unpaid

RESPONSIBILITIES

Provide basic research support such as conducting on-line searches and compiling and analyzing original documents. Interns are guided toward original documents from on-line sources, Library of Congress resources, governmental and non-governmental agencies, etc.

Prepare research material for incorporation into studies, fact sheets, position papers and other materials. Perform numerous database-related tasks including generating charts and reports.

Provide general administrative support to the research staff, such as entering and proofing data, as well as database maintenance.

REQUIREMENTS

Knowledge: Familiarity with public policy issues.Work Experience: Demonstrated research and writing experience; previous public interest work preferred.Skills: Good analytical skills; good organizational skills; proficiency in use of computer and Internet research; familiarity with databases (preferably Access) desirable. Capabilities: Conscientious, accurate and tenacious; can-do attitude and commitment to public interest work

TO APPLY: Submit current cover letter, resume, and writing sample to Kelly Ngo (kngo@citizen.org). Please indicate in the subject line of your email which internship you are applying for. No phone calls please.

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